Hesitant
by thelittleturtleduck
Summary: He was the most powerful man in the world and had faced dozens of dangerous threats and criminals, but nothing could have prepared him for the fear he felt as he held his daughter for the first time.


A/n: I'm just going to have to start a story of oneshots that document this family because I cannot stop writing about them.

Disclaimer: I don't own "The Legend of Korra" or the characters.

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"You know," Aang murmured, his voice filled with an unknown humor as his lips quirked slightly, "I have no clue what I'm doing."

Her breath was calm, face the color of mocha just like her mother's. Tiny hands curled instinctively to her chest as she gazed up at him with deep cerulean eyes, dark lashes barely ghosting her soft cheeks as she blinked. The newborn was still trying to get a grasp on this new world that surrounded her.

His wife's near silent snores were the only sound in the room, much more comforting than her agonized screams from just an hour prior. Bringing their daughter into this world hadn't been easy for the young mother, and she had been able to hold her daughter close for just a moment before drifting into a deep sleep.

Aang could hear voices coming from down the hall, multiple visitors waiting in the living area still for the time when they would be able to see the baby. Kanna, after the delivery, had gone to tell them that Katara and the Avatar were now the proud parents of a beautiful little girl. The elderly woman though had told the visitors to allow the couple a bit of rest before bombarding them with questions and fighting to get to hold the new addition to their family.

The Avatar heard Sokka crack a joke that was followed by the sound of a swift slap as Suki reprimanded him for what had been said. Hakoda laughed nervously at the joke his son had made, while Toph retaliated with a statement dripping with sarcasm. The young father could also hear Kanna in the kitchen making tea as quietly as she could, fully aware of the resting mother down the hall.

Aang's stormy eyes returned to the precious bundle he held in the cradle of his arms. The newborn had now begun to bunch the fabric of his autumn colored robes in her tiny, tanned hands. He chuckled quietly as he gently pat one fist with his tattooed hand.

"Maybe you will get lucky and I'll be able to figure this all out somehow," The baby's eyes met his again, tiny fingers curling around one of his pale ones. The comparison in size nearly made Aang tear up from how fragile this tiny creature truly was, "At least you have your mother. I guarantee, she's the best one you could ask for. She's been so excited for your arrival. You caused her quite some issues though."

It was true. Katara had been warned that since it was her first pregnancy, it was sure to be no walk in the park. The waterbender had trouble with morning sickness, the symptom not being limited only to the early hours of day. The poor, expectant mother had been waking up in the middle of the night sick and falling asleep the next night the same way.

But Aang could tell even after the pain of child birth, that Katara didn't regret a thing. The love had been written plainly across her face as she gazed into their daughter's eyes for the very first time, the color so much like her own.

"I was awaiting your arrival too," The Avatar's voice was quiet as he watched the baby amusedly as she attempted to stick his finger in her mouth curiously, "Though I'm terrified of you, I can't help but be excited at the same time."

His daughter snuggled deeper in his arms, the cool night breeze sending a slight chill through the room from the open window. The moonlight poured in and danced across the floor, the light seeming brighter than usual. Perhaps, it was Aang's new perspective. It seemed like everything had become brighter in the past hour.

"You want to know something funny?" Aang didn't expect a response, so when the baby girl looked up at him curiously, dark brows instinctively drawing near, he continued on, "I'm supposedly the most powerful man on the planet. I have defeated a powerful Fire Lord and faced dozens of rebellions and dangerous criminals without hesitation, but the prospect of being a father makes me want to curl up and meditate until I feel numb."

He had expressed some of his worries with Katara, who had in turn, rolled her eyes at his silly fears of accidently dropping their child because he wasn't holding her correctly, or hugging her too hard and accidently breaking her. She had reassured him that he would be a perfect father.

But that didn't quell his fears.

"We'll figure this all out together," Aang murmured as his daughter yawned, her fists finding their way back into the warm, Water Tribe style blanket that wrapped around her slim frame. The Avatar took a moment to tenderly stroke a finger across the dark hair on top of her head. She looked so much like her mother, but he could see himself in both her lips and in her nose. She was perfect.

And that terrified him even more.

He hadn't noticed it, but as if on instinct, he had begun to bounce gently up and down. The baby released a content coo as she refused to release her gaze from her father's, her abstract mind putting together the pieces and acknowledging the existence and place of this man in her life.

"You're a natural."

The Avatar's eyes widened as he ceased his bouncing and turned to face his wife, now sitting up in their bed. Though there were circles under her eyes, and her dark hair was unkempt and matted, she wore a content smile that warmed the young man's chest just as it had when he had first saw her.

Aang allowed himself to return her smile, walking over to the side of the bed and gently sitting himself on the edge of the mattress, careful not to jostle his surely sore wife, "You should be asleep."

"I wanted to see my husband and daughter again."

He tilted the baby in the cradle of his arms slightly to the side as his wife rested her chin on his shoulder, "It's still so strange."

"That she's our's?"

Aang nodded, watching as Katara's slender fingers reached up to pull the blanket down slightly to where she could touch their daughter's hand gently, "I can believe it. I was the one that had to carry her for nine months."

The Avatar's gaze turned sympathetic as his wife's blue eyes looked up to meet his light ones, "I'm sorry. If I could have taken all that pain away from you, I would have. Even if it meant having to go through it all myself. I've been struck by lightning before, I think I could have handled it."

Katara gave him a soft smile, "I know you would have."

The newborn cooed softly as she fought to regain her parent's undivided attention again, both laughed at the baby's attemtps. Aang's eyes filled with tears in that moment, just as they had a mere hour before as he had held his child for the first time. He just couldn't believe this was his daughter.

"Do you want to invite everyone in now?"

The new mother nodded, her smile growing, "I almost forgot that everyone hadn't gotten to meet her yet."

Aang gently passed the baby into his wife's capable hands, her arms naturally craddling the bundle close to her. The young man stood for a moment, just watching as mother and daughter shared a moment, both taking the other in just as they had an hour before. It was an unforgettable sight.

Finally pulling himself from the room, The Avatar made his way down the hall where his company was awaiting him. The visitors had now become quiet, having heard the door of the master bedroom open down the hall.

"Daddy Twinkletoes!"

Aang cringed at his childhood nickname that Toph never ceased to forget, his ears also sensitive to the exclamation after a near hour of peaceful silence, "Toph, please don't call me that."

The metalbending police chief crossed her arms across her chest, a defiant look appearing on her features along with a thin lipped smirk, "Not gonna happen."

Sokka stood from his place beside Suki on the couch where his father now stood as well, "How is she?"

"She just woke up. She wanted me to come get everyone."

Zuko and Mai, who had been sipping tea quietly on the other side of the room, stood now as well. Mai, though face emotionless, voiced what everyone else was thinking "Well, let's go meet the new bundle of joy."

The group of people all walked down the hall to the master bedroom, Aang lighting a few candles as he reached the room with his firebending.

The visitors all let themselves into the room, each hesitating slightly but becoming curious as their gazes met the proud gaze of the young woman craddling a baby in the middle of her bed.

Sokka, though not much of a emotional man, was the first to walk over to the side of his sister. Uncharacteristicly affectionate, he placed a brief kiss on the crown of her head.

"Are you okay, Katara?"

The young woman laughed softly at her brother's hesitant words, knowing full and well that childbirth wasn't one of his favorite things to discuss, "I'm fine, Sokka."

The man looked down at the bundle she craddled, "So, this is her?"

Toph snorted from her spot behind him, her and Suki both rolling their eyes, "I don't see any other newborns in the room, Snoozles."

Sokka pursed his lips, reaching a tentative hand out to softly poke the child's hand that had escaped from the blankets.

"She's so...squishy."

It was Katara's turn to roll her eyes, "That's the first thing you say about your niece?"

"Hey, she needs to know from this moment on, her Uncle always speaks his mind."

Aang raised his brows from where he stood on the other side of the bed, "I'm sure she would have picked up that knowledge sooner or later."

Zuko, wanting to avoid having to listen to a battle of wit between the Avatar and Councilman, cut in quickly, "Have you decided on a name, yet?"

Katara's lips upturned into a soft smile, a gleam in her eyes appearing as they searched the room, "Dad?"

Hakoda stepped up from where he stood next to Kanna in the doorway of the room, a smile on his face and a tug at his heart as he watched his little girl craddle a child of her own. He could only wish Kya had been there to see her at that moment, to see how wonderfully their daughter had grown.

"Yes?"

The waterbender gestured for her father to draw near, the other people in the room stepping back slightly so that the proud Water Tribe warrior could make his way through.

He approached the bed and Katara patted the mattress beside her, silently asking for him to sit. He obliged.

"I wanted you to be the first to hold her, " His daughter murmured quietly as she pulled the blankets back from her child's face softly.

She gently passed the bundle into his arms, the baby squirming to find a more comfortable position as she was exchanged between the two.

"She's beautiful, Katara."

The newborn looked almost exactly like his daughter had when she was born. Hakoda could see that her smile and nose though had been received from her father, and her skin was a mere shade lighter than that of her mother's.

"What's her name?"

Katara's face turned up to meet the gaze of her husband, a smile evident on his features as he nodded softly to his wife, "Kya."

Everyone in the room appeared shocked, Hakoda being the most shocked of all. Kya's death had been so painful to Katara, he was stunned she would name her daughter after something that had become such a horrid memory.

"We decided that if we had a daughter, that would be her name," Aang explained to the shocked visitors in the room, "We wanted our child to be just as strong and brave as her grandmother had been."

Katara smiled tiredly as she watched her father raise a tanned hand up to touch the soft skin of his granddaughter's cheek, "I have no doubts that she will live up to her name. She'll make her grandmother proud."

Hakoda nodded, though his daughter could see the tears welling up in his cerulean eyes, "Of course she will."

The baby was passed around the room, everyone showering the newborn with more attention than any child could ever ask for.

"So," Sokka casually began as he held his niece awkwardly in his arms, "Are we taking bets on what Kya will be bending yet or is it to soon to bring that up?"

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed exasperatedly, though not surprised that her brother would bring up something so ridiculous at that moment in time.

"What?!"

"I bet on water!" Toph stuck her hand up in the air, taking the man up on his offer of competition, "No way that kid could look so Water Tribe and not end up being a waterbender."

Zuko shook his head, "No, my bet's on an airbender. The baby is unusually calm. Most children would be screaming their heads off right now."

Katara rolled her eyes as the people in the room continued to yell out their bets.

Aang sat down beside his wife, smiling as he watched Zuko awkwardly craddle their child as Mai positioned his arms in the correct position, muttering to him about how horrible he was at it.

"You still worried?"

The Avatar chuckled softly, "Of course I am."

His wife laid her head on his shoulder, her eyelids beginning to droop, "Well, just keep in mind it could be worse. Every time you worry about what kind of a father you will be, just remember what Sokka and Zuko looked like holding our daughter."

Aang had to laugh at that, a calm washing over him at that moment.

Maybe she was right.

As Zuko passed the child off to a resistant Toph, the Avatar realized that maybe this new chapter in his life wouldn't be as difficult as he thought it would be.


End file.
